A Bluffton man pleaded guilty Tuesday to a felony charge of driving under the influence after his speedy, impaired driving caused a four-vehicle collision and killed a motorcyclist at a notoriously dangerous intersection last summer.
Carlos Mauricos Acosta Galvez, 40, received 20 years in prison for the fatal DUI charge. He will be credited for the 398 days served at the Beaufort County Detention Center before trial, bringing his sentence to just under 19 years.
Galvez was also convicted of causing “great bodily injury” to the driver of a Mercedes SUV, who was hospitalized after firefighters used extrication equipment to remove him from his totaled vehicle. His 15-year sentence for that charge and a three-year sentence for an unrelated misdemeanor count of domestic violence will run concurrently with his primary 20-year sentence.
The Aug. 6, 2023 crash killed 54-year-old Ridgeland man Marc Garrity , who was struck by Galvez’s vehicle while turning from Buckwalter Parkway onto U.S. 278 in a Honda motorcycle. He was pronounced dead at the scene.